The early poll surveys are in: Wisconsin Democrats dig Hillary and Republicans like Fred.

In the latest Badger Poll, conducted by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center, Hillary Clinton was the top pick of 39 percent of the Democratic-leaning, potential voters surveyed. Barack Obama was the choice of 26 percent. John Edwards was the only other Dem with double-digit approval at 15 percent. Joe Biden brought up the rear at two percent.

In the big tent of the Grand Old Party, Badger Republicans bucked big-time the campaign of Mike Huckabee, which has garnered national attention since he started showing up on the radar in Iowa.

A surprising 30 percent of Republican voters liked Fred Thompson, with Rudy Giuliani closing in at 25 percent. John McCain got 15 percent of those surveyed, while Huckabee came in fourth with eight percent. Ron Paul, the dark horse Congressman from Texas, raked in four percent.

The Badger Poll also queried voters about their impressions of the candidates. Among self-proclaimed independents, Clinton is the largest polarizer, leaving 50 percent of the surveyed with an unfavorable impression.

Obama was deemed most favorable to independents. Among Democrats, Clinton topped the unfavorable list with 17 percent indicating a negative impression, while she also garnered the most favorable status at 73 percent.

Independents didn't have strong opinions about Republicans, with Rudy Giuliani topping the negatives list at 29 percent and McCain and Giuliani getting 54 percent of the favorable opinions. Among Republicans, McCain elicited unfavorable impressions with 44 percent of the respondents while Giuliani had 78 percent feeling favorable towards him.

Organized Labor Goes to the Classroom: The history of organized labor is underreported in terms of its importance on the landscape of America. The 40-hour workweek, health benefits, OSHA, and even Taft-Hartley wouldn't exist if it weren't for unions and organized labor. The state Senate is considering a bill that would mandate labor history as part of the school curriculum. A cavalcade of union leaders testified last week in front of the Senate Education Committee, all pointing out the unsung achievements of the union movement.

"We were the first state to enact an unemployment insurance law. We paved the way for a strong workers compensation law that became the standard across the U.S.," said Susan McMurray, legislative representative for AFSCME. "Anyone who participates in the Wisconsin Retirement Systems owes gratitude to Mrs. Ingeborg Sidwell, who worked 23 years scrubbing the floors of the state Capitol.

"It was Mrs. Sidwell who went directly to Governor Walter S. Goodland when she heard he had vetoed the pension law. So persuasive was Mrs. Sidwell about the need to protect older workers that Gov. Goodland sent a message to lawmakers asking them to override his own veto. That is the story of how our state pension system came to be. This is labor history."

Organized Labor at the Chalkboard: Speaking of organized labor, UW System faculty members are among the few in the region that do not have collective bargaining rights as do other states' public university faculty.

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